Should patients that have been identified by doctors as being of potential harm to themselves or others be “made” to take medication? If so, how would you see this being enforced?

On the one hand, we have a right to privacy and over what goes in and comes out of our body. However, there are situations where laws are enforced in regards to the safety of others and to you, yourself. DUI’s are an example of this. A Dr.’s oath to report if one of their patients is planning to kill themselves or others is another. If it has been determined that someone is a danger to themselves and others, should they be made to take their medication?

There is a delicate balance in protecting the severely mentally ill from themselves and others while recognizing their personal rights. Photo by Davido www.flickr.com/photos/davido/2260290926

We have a close friend who had schizophrenia. A brilliant, gentle guy who, at 22 started hearing voices. He was able to work for two decades with this since he was a software engineer and could work behind closed doors. He tried medication but always felt like he was walking in glue and couldn’t think at all. He kept trying. He moved in with us when he had nowhere to go that he trusted. He lived with us for two years and you could rarely tell that he had “it”. Then, 9 months ago, after attempting to control the disease without medication, he committed suicide in our little apartment we built for him next to our house. My husband and I found him. God rest Alex. I do know this, talk therapy is so important to the process and his insurance did not allow him to see the one therapist that he trusted. Instead he had to take a bus two hours away to an approved provider. Alex didn’t trust him and stopped going. It’s so rare for someone with schizophrenia to get violent and kill.

Rather than schizophrenia, it is sociopaths and psychopaths that kill, and there are many warning signs years before the person acts out their plans.

So, what do you think? Should severely mentally ill people be made to take medication?

Debra Fine had the opportunity to raise awareness regarding the cost of being a victim on Huffington Post Live. Along with Dr. Irv Danesh, she was also able to point out the need for increased accessibility to mental health care.

On this segment of Huffington Post Live, several victims shared the cost of being a crime victim as well as their experience in the moment.

The link to the show is not currently available. We are contacting HuffPostLive to see if there is any archive for the following:

On the video note:
Debra Fine on mental health awareness issues: 21:29
Debra Fine intro and discussion of the cost of being a crime victim: 00:44

“It IS a public health issue!”says Dr. Irv Danesh: 31.44
“It is very difficult to get a mental health bed”

HuffPost Live launched on August 13, 2012. On January 8, 2016, Arianna Huffington announced that HuffPost Live would be scaled back to reorganize the Huffington Post’s video strategy toward more shareable online content. New live content ended on March 28, 2016.

To hear more of Debra Fine’s story on the Santa Monica College shooting, see her article on LeanIn.org inspiration section.